LOWELL, Mass. -- On May 3, 2018, Sam Klingsporn of the UMass Lowell Men's Lacrosse team traveled to Casey Stadium in Albany, New York where the River Hawks faced off against the Great Danes of Albany in the America East semifinal. This proved to be the last game of Klingsporn's collegiate career as a midfielder for the River Hawks as they fell short to a talented No. 5 nationally ranked Albany team. In his four years at UMass Lowell, Klingsporn tallied 51 goals along with 11 assists in 51 games. 

This ended a memorable run for a close-knit group of seniors that developed from what Klingsporn best described as "Motley crew type guys" during their freshmen campaign. He explained, "Going from a rough year like that to our senior year being competitive in every game; all that blood, sweat, and tears throughout the four years just to get to that point was awesome." Looking back on the result he added, "I would have obviously liked to have won that game but getting there with that group of guys was huge and it meant a lot. It's something I'm never going to forget, and I don't think anyone in our class will either." 

Graduating in the spring of 2018 and receiving a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship was important to Sam and the Klingsporn family hailing from Aloha, Oregon, as he became the first of his family to obtain a college degree.  

"On the academic side I accomplished everything I wanted to do and being able to graduate was a big thing for me," said Klingsporn, who was prepared for life after graduation. 

Well-aware of his career goals, Klingsporn knew the military was the right fit for him and he hopes to keep it that way adding, "That's 20+ years and I don't have a certain rank I want to get to, but I'd like to be in the military for my whole career." 

It started with Basic Training down in Fort Benning, Georgia and that lasted eight weeks. This was the beginning of a new chapter for Klingsporn, who ultimately applied the values he learned from playing lacrosse in college in order to make the transition painless. He noted, "There is so much correlation that I feel like a lot of things haven't changed for me since I graduated; there are some differences, but the correlation is off the charts." 

The physical training that is done every morning in the army can be compared to the daily practices for the lacrosse team. He also pointed out that leadership and the ability to lead a group is crucial in both lacrosse and the military.  

Playing under Head Coach Ed Stephenson allowed Klingsporn to have a better understanding of what leadership truly means adding, "Having him as an example could prepare anybody to go down this journey." Klingsporn continued, "They talk to us all the time about what a good leader is and when they list off all the things, they are all traits I see in Coach Stephenson." 

The camaraderie aspect of playing lacrosse and being part of a team in college has helped Klingsporn during his entry-level training experience. He attributes his ability to develop closer relationships to people, to his past where he was often on road trips with teammates, spending a lot of time with the team. During his training experiences Klingsporn has been surrounded by others, so he pointed out that being able to get along with people and create relationships has helped him tremendously. "I'm friends with guys now that I have known for eight months, but I feel like I've known them my whole life because of the amount of time I've spent around them," he explained.  

Immediately following Klingsporn's completion of Basic Training he spent 12 weeks in Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia. This was more difficult than Basic Training but proved to be worth it for Sam because no one in his family had been an Officer before. He recalled the day of graduation as the most rewarding aspect of the entry-level training experience adding,  

"When you become an Officer, you choose someone to give you your first salute and my brother was the first person to salute me. I have a lot of family in the military but nobody has ever been an Officer, so it was big for me to experience that and continue a family tradition, and for it to be my older brother was very cool." 

After having completed Basic Training and Officer Candidate School, Klingsporn plans to keep progressing forward. During the month of October, he will take on the Infantry Basic Officer Leaders Course, followed by Airborne School and Rangers School in Fort Benning. Eventually he will get his assignment and head to his unit where he officially will become an Infantry Platoon Leader. 

Klingsporn looked back on his decision to attend UMass Lowell and play for Coach Stephenson: 

"The four years at UMass Lowell were great. By the end of it I was extremely happy with my decision. Coach gave me that opportunity and it was awesome. Being around those guys and that group for four years was great." 

Klingsporn at this point in his career will be looking over small units, which is something similarly done in lacrosse based off certain positions. Thanks to Coach Stephenson, Klingsporn feels he has a grasp on what it takes to lead a unit saying it's about "getting close with your guys and caring about them while always giving clear instructions, showing people exactly what to do."